South Point and Curio Bay campground, South Catlins, Southland

 Views of the sea and a disorganised campground experience

We were supposed to visit the Cathedral Caves on the way south from Lake Wilkie but unfortunately they were closed for the lambing season as you have to cross some farmland to get to them. So...word to the wise...don't try to visit Cathedral Caves from September to the end of October folks...

FYI: No access to Cathedral Caves in September-October

Instead we headed straight to Curio Bay and the the campground we were staying in for two days. Curio Bay is in the southern end of the Catlins in Southland and is the only obvious place to camp at this end of the Catlins. 

Rocky beach between South Head and Curio Bay

We were here for two nights to give us time to explore this end of the Catlins. 

Curio Bay campground:

We had booked to stay at Curio Bay Campground and online it looked like an awesome spot to park up for a couple of days. It has many campsites and newer facilities than Pounawea but when we arrived we discovered that the reception/café was shut for a couple of weeks. 

This was news to us...

An idyllic looking campsite at Curio Bay

Instead of face to face check-in you have to contact the owners for details of your site and a code for the amenity building with the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry and lounge area. This is fine but we had a hell of a job contacting the owners as they did not answer their phone. 

Map: The area around Curio Bay and Porpoise Bay

We were on the point of pulling pin and driving back to Pounawea or to Invercargill when we finally got through to them. They sent through all the information but this should have been sent automatically if they knew they were not going to be there.

A bad first impression and piss poor performance...!!! 

Some of the campervan sites at Curio Bay Campground

 The campsites were set amongst areas of Harakeke down by Porpoise Bay and they were flat, dry and well maintained so they were quite nice. There are campsites, and powered and unpowered caravan sites available. There is a set of toilets at this end of the campground and we used these at night as the main amenity block was about 400 meters away. 

The campsite themselves are very nice...Curio Bay

The amenity building is very nice and only a couple of years old but you have to pay for hot showers during the summer which was also news to us. It would have been nice if they had let us know beforehand as we had no change on us! Luckily the showers were free while the campground owner was away. 

Amenity block at the Curio Bay Campground

Apart from that I the campground was cool...the kitchen was well appointed with plenty of space and it was warm and inviting inside. The showers work really well and the laundry was good with several washers and dryers all coin operated. It was comfortable inside the amenity block and I really like that everything is together. 

Kitchen at Curio Bay Campground...nice

Dining area at the Curio Bay Campground

I cannot fault the facilities only the deplorable check-in service...it was stress inducing at the end of a long days drive!!!

Curio Bay and South Head:

There are a number of places of interest here at Curio Bay. There is a area of petrified trees on the beach near the Curio Bay Café at the campground. The café was closed but we had a look at the menu posted at the window and it looked nice. It looks like they usually have cabinet food and hot meals from morning through early evening. 

The shoreline of Curio Bay in the Catlin's

There is also South Head which is the headland to the east of the campground with views up and down the coast. 

South Head from near Curio Bay

There is a very lovely beach at Porpoise Bay and it would be possible to walk right along the length of Porpoise Bay on the golden sandy beach. It looked to be about three kilometers to the far end and the mouth of Waikawa Harbour.

South Head and the entrance to Porpoise Bay

People often see Seals, Sea Lions, whales and yes Porpoises in Porpoise Bay....in times past there were whaling stations here. 

Porpoise Bay is next to the campground

Up by the Reception-Café at Curio Bay Campground is a patch of coastal Rimu forest with a nice track around the interior. They have named it the Tumu Toka Living Forest. It is a ten hectare block of old growth forest and as well as a lot of Rimu trees there are Fuchsia, Totara, Kahikatea and Matai Trees. 

Entrance to the Rimu forest at Curio Bay

After we set ourselves up for the night Karen and I went for a walk up to the lookout at South Head at the end of the peninsula the campground occupies. There are some sea cliffs at South Head and from the top edge you could see for quite some distance up and down the coast. There are a couple of bench seats there you can sit on and there is a gravel road right to the top of the head so you could sit inside and look at the views. 

The sea was rough at South Head, Curio Bay

Curio Bay and Flaxy Head are south of South Head

Looking out to the ocean from South Head at Curio Bay

You have a good outlook over the campground from south Head and back along the access road to the holiday homes at the main Curio Bay Settlement. This is the best place to take in the entirety of Porpoise Bay which is just to the north of the campsite. 

View out to Curio Bay and Porpoise Bay from South Head

We were the only people staying in the campground that night and with the remoteness, problems getting access to the amenities, the dark, wet and windy weather and the campsite set up it just felt a bit weird. Like creepy Friday the 13th style weird! 

A couple of beverages made things brighter but we made sure we locked up the campervan securely that night...

....Malibu and Pineapple Juice is a great cure all....

Things looked better the next morning when we woke up to a beautiful sunny day and now that we had worked out how to access everything we were much happier at the Curio Bay Campground. It was much nicer on the second night as there were a couple of other camper vans parked nearby and it didn't seem so lonely and neglected.  

View out to Porpoise Bay from the Curio Bay campground

Surf Club building at Porpoise Bay, Catlins

Porpoise Bay from the Curio Bay Campground

Our arrival was not an ideal start to our two nights at this camp ground. I don't mind 'roughing it' but it was just a bit weird and un-organised as far as I was concerned. The fact that we had to chase down the owners for the check-in information was very unprofessional...

Our van site at the Curio Bay Campground

 I know we were the only people there on the first night but come on....when you are as slap dash as this people are not going to recommend your campground. I'm sure it is fine here in the middle of the summer when there are more people around but Karen and I were both disappointed. 

Anyway...

Access: Curio Bay is off the Southern Scenic Route in the southern part of the Catlins. Turn off the Southern Scenic Route at Waikawa Road and drive about 10 kilometers past Waikawa, Curio Bay Settlement to the carpark at the Curio Bay Campground. 
Miscellaneous: Tumu Toka/Curio Bay Campground is located on a peninsula near Waikawa in the southern Catlins area of Southland. There are powered and un powered sites here with a new amenity block (kitchen/toilets/showers/laundry) a café and reception office. There is a set of public toilets down by the Porpoise Bay Surf Club for camp users.